If you've never heard of Thunderclap, it is a tool that allows charities or causes to amplify a specific message by organizing hundreds of people to share that message with their social networks at a single, common moment.

With so many FB and Twitter posts and news on our feeds, it's hard to rise above the clutter and get your message heard. That's why we've kicked off this Thunderclap challenge! By joining together to share the same message we will be able to create a louder voice and more people will hear about our campaign.

Like Kickstarter, Thunderclap is all or nothing. We need at least 100 people to sign up to share our message on Twitter or Facebook before Tuesday, November 4th, at 10:00am ET., or the message won't be sent.

Signing up is very simple - just follow this link: http://thndr.it/1s6UV6E select the message you want to share (be sure to include the hashtags #poetryisnotdead #revivebombaandplena #lasalitacafe) and choose which of your accounts you’re happy to share it on.

Let us know if you have any questions and please pass it on to your friends too!

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The Project

About Us – We are a spoken word, poetry and live music eco-friendly café. We offer a delectable array of traditional Puerto Rican dishes, accompanied by live performances, readings, art viewings and film screenings from local artists. Our mission is to discover, showcase and be the platform for emerging local talent from the island of Puerto Rico.

With the current boom in mainstream music, growth and appreciation for local cultural artists has experienced several negative effects. Current open mics and galleries, which work to promote and sustain local artists, poets and filmmakers are now few and far between. Most businesses have all but too quickly reverted to mainstream entertainment in order to survive, due to the shaky economy and the fact that electricity providers are charging more than double the average rate per kilowatt hour than U.S. suppliers.

This leaves very few options for local artists, which have slowly been retreating to the isolated rural areas from which they originally came. Artists who want to be validated and gain better exposure have resolved that leaving the island is the only option. To make matters worse, our children are losing their sense of cultural identity with the loss of our cultural arts.

Mainstream is safe, therefore an easy and sure buck. The message that innovation, creativity, culture and poetry is dead is a pill we will not swallow! We must reclaim our identity!

We are striving to empower, foster and promote Puerto Rico’s local emerging artists and revive traditional music; defending our Taino culture every step of the way! Our goal is to inspire positive social consciousness within the creative circle. We further hope to instill these changes by building upon a foundation of community, dialogue and culture.

By linking similar creative organizations we hope to grow the community so we all may work towards our common goals. By being the bridge it would allow these organizations and visitors to show their support by encouraging artists to give back to the community, as well as help further the success of Puerto Rico’s local artists.

Our dedication to encourage local organic agriculture is very important to us. Our dishes will be made only from healthy, organic food that is grown locally. We celebrate the unique blends of what healthy Puerto Rican cuisine can be. For brew lovers like us, we offer delicious Puerto Rican artisanal coffee from local growers.

The quality that we are striving to provide for our community is immeasurable, with high quality food (fresh and local) and entertainment that is still affordable.

Become A Valuable Supporter to Our Cause:

You Can Help Us By Providing Financial Contributions, Feedback and Creative Inspiration!

With your support, and a collective vision, this project will become a reality. Not only will you be assisting in funding the development, but you will also have a voice in its future. Contributors to La Salita Café will be asked and encouraged to provide feedback and creative direction, in order to create an amazing café built upon cultural values and a dedication to the creative arts.

Your contributions are the most important of all. After all, YOU are the artists, the spoken word lovers, the music lovers, and the ones who like and support our cause. If it is important to you, then it is important to us as well. This is your chance to influence La Salita Café and become a valuable contributor to a worthy cause.

We have been turned down by several banks, they are hesitant to back a creative initiative like our own. This is our chance to prove them wrong by providing the island’s local artists with encouragement and power of voice through the development of a platform, which would be capable of giving them exposure to a larger audience. So please, become part of the story!

How Will Your Money Be Used?

Your contributions to La Salita
Café will all go towards turning this dream into a reality.

The Rewards of Contributing to La Salita Café

We are more than excited to show all our supporters just how much they are appreciated. We have created a list of some really cool rewards in appreciation for your generous pledge. If you look to the right and below, you will see all of the great rewards that we have put together for this campaign.

Add-ons

We will be offering all physical rewards as add-ons, so if you want to get multiple rewards for family and friends you just have to over-pledge the amount for the items you want.

That said, we completely understand if you are unable to make a donation. If you support our cause, there are other ways in which you could still make a valuable contribution:

Share our cause and help us to promote this campaign by Liking & Sharing our YouTube video and our campaign with all of your friends and family via Linkedin Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Email and text.

Do you have a website or blog? Make a mention of our cause and campaign to your followers.

If you're close friends with the Calle 13 or the President of Medalla Light, Banco Popular or Bacardi, let them know, too! ;)

Sign up for our newsletters and make sure you don't miss our events and updates.

Are you a business owner or individual who would like to help us promote this campaign or make a non-monetary contribution? We are grateful for all the help that we can get. If you would like to help us promote this campaign, then we would be more than happy to provide printed promotional materials.

If you are interested in making a non-monetary contribution (for example, donating equipment or supplies) please contact me at: info@lasalitacafe.com

Help us spread the word, so that we can get La Salita Café up and running, and take Puerto Rico’s local talent to the next level!

Risks and challenges

The challenges of the La Salita Café Kickstarter will be getting the word out, and convincing Kickstarters to participate. There are so many amazing projects out there; it is going to be hard to get the attention I need to make this Kickstarter successful. To reach as many people as possible, I am asking friends, families, and various blogs to help me spread the word.

We understand that even the most well laid plans can encounter obstacles and setbacks. Opening up a restaurant/entertainment venue, such as our own, is not always as straightforward as we might wish; many things can change on a weekly or even daily basis. We have learned to be quick on our feet and extremely agile in every aspect, in order to successfully achieve our goals.

One of our biggest challenges is ensuring that we can obtain the core features (which are also the most expensive) to create an amazing and successful café. At the same time, however, it is also important to leave enough room to add all the other awesome features that may wind up being cut in the meantime. We have developed a spectacular plan for success and although we realize that certain features may have to be cut from the plan, it is still hard to bear.

Support

Select this reward

Pledge $5 or more
About $5

Thanks, Gracias, Merci! Every dollar pledged helps bring us closer to making this a reality. You will be able to catch live performances from Puerto Rico’s most talented local artists and support our cultural expression, as well as have your name forever remembered on our website as one of the original La Salita Café backers.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

As gratitude for your support, you will receive an exclusive limited edition print by Kiara Kano, kudos on our website and social media pages, and your photo as part of a creative collage of supporters on our Facebook page timeline.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

Rock your support in style with your choice of any ONE of the 3 custom-designed limited edition T-shirts, you will receive an exclusive limited edition print by Kiara Kano, kudos on our website and social media pages, and your photo as part of a creative collage of supporters on our Facebook page timeline.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

In recognition of your support, you will receive a limited edition 11 x 14 Painting by Kiara Kano, your choice of any ONE of the 3 custom-designed limited edition T-shirts, your choice of a $10 gift card for La Salita Café or a Vejigante Artisan Pin, kudos on our website and social media pages, and your photo as part of a creative collage of supporters on our Facebook page timeline.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

LIMITED to the first 50. Take a personal Preview Tour of the new space (before the Grand Opening) to get an exclusive sneak peek behind the curtains to see the inner workings of the Café and be the first to taste various menu items we’re preparing, as well as provide valuable feedback and suggestions. Be invited to one of our private opening parties and receive a vinyl bumper sticker to cover up the rust spots on your car or bike you’ll use to ride to one of our private parties for supporters! Receive your choice of any ONE of the 3 custom-designed limited edition T-shirts, your choice of a $10 gift card for La Salita Café or a Vejigante Artisan Pin, kudos on our website and social media pages, and your photo as part of a creative collage of supporters on our Facebook page timeline.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

LIMITED to the first 10. Become chef for a day, come to our kitchen and help create a signature dish that will be named in your honor. Your dish will alternate on our changing menu of the week for one year. Then, you can shamelessly brag to all your friends that it was your idea all along, well, because it is named after you! Cool huh? Be invited to one of our private opening parties and receive a vinyl bumper sticker. Receive your choice of any TWO of the 3 custom-designed limited edition T-shirts, your choice of a $10 gift card for La Salita Café or a Vejigante Artisan Pin, kudos on our website and social media pages, and your photo as part of a creative collage of supporters on our Facebook page timeline.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

LIMITED to the first 10. Your name engraved on our "Built by the community" wall. Private Tour of the "real" Puerto Rico for you and up to 3 guests. Receive your choice of any TWO of the 3 custom-designed limited edition T-shirts, your choice of a $10 gift card for La Salita Café or a Vejigante Artisan Pin, kudos on our website and social media pages, and your photo as part of a creative collage of supporters on our Facebook page timeline.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,500 or more
About $2,500

LIMITED to the first 10. Have a private evening party for up to 15 guests catered just for you. Receive free coffee for a year (1 per day). You and 3 guests are invited to a private pre-opening party (ADDITIONAL GUESTS +$50). A one-year solo membership, which includes: free admission to 4 open mic nights, priority seating for your 4 free admissions, 2 free drink tokens, access for 2 to members only events, and a subscription to La Salita Café newsletter. Receive your choice of any TWO of the 3 custom-designed limited edition T-shirts, your choice of a $10 gift card for La Salita Café or a Vejigante Artisan Pin, kudos on our website and social media pages, and your photo as part of a creative collage of supporters on our Facebook page timeline.